How much would you pay for a first/business class upgrade?

[MooreBonds]

After I've booked economy class tickets on United, they frequently offer me the chance to buy up to business/first class. For a 3 hour domestic flight they usually want $300 for the round-trip. Which seems kind of steep, although if you were planning on buying "economy plus" (+$100) and checking a bag (+$50) then the incremental cost to get to first is only $150. Still more than I want to spend on a 3 hour flight. I think at +4 hours, the $300 upgrade would be worth it. But of course they want more than $300 for those longer flights.

I'm in the camp that would almost never pay for it.

Granted, IF I were flying on an airline that charged for checking a bag, and it were a long flight (10+ hours), I MIGHT consider it - but for most international flights, they'd want probably $1,000+++ for upgrading. And most int'l flights give you at least 1 or 2 checked bags for free.

I realize some people need leg room because of their height, but when I think about it, I just imagine taking a nice 7 day cruise with that pile of money they want to charge me, and think "Would I rather sit in a seat with more legroom for just a few hours and maybe get an alcoholic drink or two, and some crappy meal....or, spend an entire week on a cruise ship with some activities for the same money?".

 

[mike143]

6'2" 330# $20. My restlessness is more of a bother than being cramped.

 

[Alan]

I realize some people need leg room because of their height, but when I think about it, I just imagine taking a nice 7 day cruise with that pile of money they want to charge me, and think "Would I rather sit in a seat with more legroom for just a few hours and maybe get an alcoholic drink or two, and some crappy meal....or, spend an entire week on a cruise ship with some activities for the same money?".

2 years ago we went to the UK and Europe and since I was having some really bad back problems I told DW that for the first time I wanted to pay for Business Class tickets. She came back to me a few days later and suggested "The Crossing" with Cunard. 8 days on a luxury liner, the Queen Elizabeth, between NYC and Southampton, return a few months later on the Queen Mary, cost of return trip $1,600, and a great experience. I doubt we'll ever fly to Europe again when there are no time constraints.

 

[audreyh1]

One of the few pleasures left in flying, for me, is sitting at a window seat on a nice day, sipping a glass of wine, listening to good music and maybe snapping pictures.

When I flew a lot and occasionally got upgrades due to my status, it tended to be on a one-hour flight in the morning. I most certainly don't drink in the morning unless it's the Champagne at the beginning of a transatlantic flight!

I haven't had any wine on board that I particularly cared for. Maybe it was the plastic glass, LOL!

Had a mimosa once - wasn't bad.

 

[Alan]

I haven't had any wine on board that I particularly cared for. Maybe it was the plastic glass, LOL!

Had a mimosa once - wasn't bad.

I had 6 mimosas once, the flight attendant stumbled as she approached me and tipped the whole tray over me. This was just before a 17.5 hour flight to Mumbai from Newark. It was a good thing that the glasses were plastic

 

[audreyh1]

I had 6 mimosas once, the flight attendant stumbled as she approached me and tipped the whole tray over me. This was just before a 17.5 hour flight to Mumbai from Newark. It was a good thing that the glasses were plastic

Oh no!!!

 

[braumeister]

I travel very little now but pay for premium+ and would consider booking business for any international travel.

+1
Ever since TSA got involved, flying has become a chore instead of a pleasure.

Last couple of flights have been Economy Plus, and well worth it. So we'll keep doing that from now on. For the long flights over 2,000 miles, I gulp but pay for business class. I figure my years of long flights are not going to last that much longer, so it makes sense to get as much pleasure out of them as possible.

 

[NoiseBoy]

Chalk me up as another economy plus ticket buyer and I would probably have taken that $300 offer too. From my local non-hub airport, Delta offers reasonably priced first class tickets that route through Atlanta. Boarding early means no worries about finding space in the over head bins and I'm sipping a screwdriver while the "cattle" fill up the back of the plane Oh, and my 6'3" frame has plenty of room to stretch out even on the regional jets they fly on the shorter hops.

I wish that business class upgrades were a better deal (cheaper) for flights to Europe, but when I tried to use my miles to upgrade myself last year on a flight to London, it just didn't make economic sense, so I went with the nearly free economy ticket and paid for the plus seating upgrade. It was fine.

Oh, and regarding the cable TV comment; at $50 a month, if I can figure out a way to cut that darn cable, that gives me $600 in airfare upgrades to treat myself to.

 

[Helen]

I probably wouldn't pay to upgrade. I am 5'3" tall and the airplane seat is plenty wide for me. I've turned down exit row seats (even when free) and pointed out that the extra space would be wasted on me.

I always feel sorry for people who are tall, it looks very uncomfortable/painful to have knees jammed against the seat in front.

 

[MRG]

I'll pay, at least for economy +.

I'm agoraphobic and getting packed into the back of a small tube with 200+ of my closest friends is not fun.

 

[NW-Bound]

I still remember when I flied Phoenix/Long Beach for business day trips. They served breakfast to everybody, and the flight was only 1 hour long. My memory is fuzzy, but I think the fare was perhaps $150/RT for coach. With inflation, that would be $375 in today's dollars.

Just out of curiosity, I looked up Phoenix/LAX RT in the same day, and Southwest charged $231. The difference with the old fare is a lot more than the food.

Ah, the old memory. It was more than 30 years ago.

Last week, I was coming back from Raleigh/Durham to Houston and got upgraded to First on United. A first for me since Continental was sucked in to the bad deal by United (Grrrr).

First class meal was a cold cheese and tomato sandwich on what looked like thin cheese bread and a single oatmeal cookie. Oh, forgot the salad in a very small finger bowl. Small bag of mixed nuts preceded the meal.

The two Europeans siitting across from my seat (who just flew Lufthansa in to RDU) just laughed and handed the trays back to the flight attendant.

My how things have changed.

 

[aja8888]

I still remember when I flied Phoenix/Long Beach for business day trips. They served breakfast to everybody, and the flight was only 1 hour long. My memory is fuzzy, but I think the fare was perhaps $150/RT for coach. With inflation, that would be $375 in today's dollars.

Just out of curiosity, I looked up Phoenix/LAX RT in the same day, and Southwest charged $231. The difference with the old fare is a lot more than the food.

Ah, the old memory. It was more than 30 years ago.

The old days are long gone now that the airlines have instituted the "revenue model", aka, squeeze as many $$$ out of the passenger as you can.

That IAH - RDU round trip I took last week in coach was $1300+. No wonder they gave me an upgrade (or was it because of the 1,000,000 + system miles I have on United/Continental)

I'm at the tail end of the career flying stuff and have seen a lot since 1980 when I started heavy business travel. Nothing is fun anymore with air travel, period.

 

[mpeirce]

2 years ago we went to the UK and Europe and since I was having some really bad back problems I told DW that for the first time I wanted to pay for Business Class tickets. She came back to me a few days later and suggested "The Crossing" with Cunard. 8 days on a luxury liner, the Queen Elizabeth, between NYC and Southampton, return a few months later on the Queen Mary, cost of return trip $1,600, and a great experience. I doubt we'll ever fly to Europe again when there are no time constraints.

After reading all this today, I starting googling Cunard and it looks quite interesting.

Even getting a balcony room seems cheaper than flying (depending on a few things, but certainly it's close). I mentioned it to DW and she said, "we certainly have the time". So I'm putting this on the definitely maybe for next year. We're doing a 15 day mediterranean cruise next spring, so we'll have to see how that goes first.

[I actually spent 5 nights on the old QEII back in the 80's. It was strictly all in port. My company had chartered it for a large trade show in Boston. Very nice]

 

[Alan]

After reading all this today, I starting googling Cunard and it looks quite interesting.

Even getting a balcony room seems cheaper than flying (depending on a few things, but certainly it's close). I mentioned it to DW and she said, "we certainly have the time". So I'm putting this on the definitely maybe for next year. We're doing a 15 day mediterranean cruise next spring, so we'll have to see how that goes first.

[I actually spent 5 nights on the old QEII back in the 80's. It was strictly all in port. My company had chartered it for a large trade show in Boston. Very nice]

For the crossings we took inside cabins since it is all at sea apart from New York and sailing up the Solent into Southampton. Less need for a window or balcony when all you can see is sea.

 

[MooreBonds]

2 years ago we went to the UK and Europe and since I was having some really bad back problems I told DW that for the first time I wanted to pay for Business Class tickets. She came back to me a few days later and suggested "The Crossing" with Cunard. 8 days on a luxury liner, the Queen Elizabeth, between NYC and Southampton, return a few months later on the Queen Mary, cost of return trip $1,600, and a great experience. I doubt we'll ever fly to Europe again when there are no time constraints.

I remembered that someone in the forum posted about actually doing a cruise across the Atlantic instead of flying (although my comment was more spending the money on any cruise, not necessarily taking a cruise across the ocean as an alternative to flying), but didn't remember that it was you.

I will say that your initial comment in the past about cruising trans-Atlantic has always stuck in the back of my mind, and would be an awesome way to travel when I reach the point of retiring, since you should be able to score some pretty good deals (especially if you can go last-minute).

 

[Alan]

I remembered that someone in the forum posted about actually doing a cruise across the Atlantic instead of flying (although my comment was more spending the money on any cruise, not necessarily taking a cruise across the ocean as an alternative to flying), but didn't remember that it was you.

I will say that your initial comment in the past about cruising trans-Atlantic has always stuck in the back of my mind, and would be an awesome way to travel when I reach the point of retiring, since you should be able to score some pretty good deals (especially if you can go last-minute).

When we did the crossing in 2013, on March 31st, it was because we needed to be in the UK for a wedding April 16, otherwise we would have done a re-positioning cruise out of Galveston, stopping at various locations en-route and ending up at Barcelona. That cruise would have got us to our destination too late, but the brother of a friend of ours who was visiting him here where we live took that cruise. In future years we will be looking at re-positioning cruises.

 

[iac1003]

It surprises me that some of the same people here who would pay $300 extra for a 4 hr flight wont pay $300 for maybe 4 months of cable. It really goes to show you that different people have different priorities.

LOL. True. But it depends where your priorities are. I try for the cheaper flights and use my airline miles credit card everywhere so that we can get priority seating, one free bag each or a break on a price. I also make my breakfast in the hotel room or suite by bringing a small high powered blender with me for a green smoothie. The frugal traveler, I.

Don't have fancy cable but I do like to have tv choices without too much finagling with technology.

To each his own!


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[audreyh1]

I got the United Mileage Plus credit card because you get priority boarding in economy and free bag checked per passenger for tickets bought with it.

I only buy United airline tickets with it though.

After the first year and the bonus miles, it's a $95 annual fee. Some compensation - they send you an United Club one time pass voucher for two each year, which is equivalent.

That's way cheaper than their "checked luggage" subscription.

Being first to board group in economy/economy plus is the main reason I got it. That has high value to us.

 

[steelyman]

I don't see any inconsistencies between paying for upgrades and not paying for cable TV.

I'm in a (thankfully) temporary position of living between two states. In the other, I only have basic cable and have discovered that the broadcast networks (esp. PBS) in combination with Roku/streaming are more than I need. I probably would not have looked into it without reading of others' research, legwork, and experiences.

Cable TV makes you pay up for channels you never watch. They act like Fanucci in The Godfather.

Some of the posts in this thread are from people who look for smart ways to upgrade (e,g,, miles). They are still cost-conscious.

I'm not 6'+, but I can guess that the cramped coach can be difficult or at least uncomfortable, especially if you have to juggle a laptop, say for business. I can also guess that those with chronic conditions would have a tough time in the coach seats.

 

[Bestwifeever]

We were offered an upgrade at about $150 each on American to fly business/first class from Mexico to Chicago two months ago, a three hour trip. Without hesitating I took it as Dh was saying, "Wait, what just happened?. It was the end of a great vacation, a nice coda. The plates were china, the wine glasses were glass, the seats were cozy and spacious. It was a great flight back to the frozen land.

We don't go looking for upgrades but at this point in our lives we sort of like to take advantage the peculiar dancing lessons that unexpectedly appear sometimes, especially experiences we can enjoy together, just the two of us. Life is short.

We don't buy very much physical stuff, so maybe that offsets it.

We pay for cable TV too btw.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I don't see any inconsistencies between paying for upgrades and not paying for cable TV.

I'm in a (thankfully) temporary position of living between two states. In the other, I only have basic cable and have discovered that the broadcast networks (esp. PBS) in combination with Roku/streaming are more than I need. I probably would not have looked into it without reading of others' research, legwork, and experiences.

Cable TV makes you pay up for channels you never watch. They act like Fanucci in The Godfather.

Some of the posts in this thread are from people who look for smart ways to upgrade (e,g,, miles). They are still cost-conscious.

I'm not 6'+, but I can guess that the cramped coach can be difficult or at least uncomfortable, especially if you have to juggle a laptop, say for business. I can also guess that those with chronic conditions would have a tough time in the coach seats.

It was an offer we couldn't refuse....

 

[steelyman]

It was an offer we couldn't refuse....

You got that backwards, girl. You know what happened to Don Fanucci.

 

[Car-Guy]

Since I retired (3 yrs ago) I haven't traveled by air at all but if I did I would pay for the upgrade. Several years before I retired I began to refuse flying anywhere unless it was first or business class. Even then I hated the hassles of "modern day" air travel.

 

[HFWR]

No, LOL! For some reason I don't drink on planes.....

Being both cheap and broke, I usually fly early morning. Not that I have any particular objection to drinking at 6am, but I'd be even more useless than usual if I started drinking that early...

 

[MichaelB]

Taking a cruise instead of flying is an option I never considered but sounds like a great idea, especially now that we have time. I just took a look at some relocation cruises and many are sold out - it seems like a popular.